I've been known to have red hair for a rather long time now. Customers that so delightfully forget my name refer to me as 'the young one with red hair'. Quite the compliment I'm sure you'll agree. For about a year now I've been bored with my red hair; once the girl kept in isolation for mad hair colours at school and the envy of my friends that it didn't fall out through reckless dying. It was time for a change. I'd settled on red when I got my 'proper grown up' job and still couldn't quite let go of my 'alternative style' but over time it becomes a pain to maintain, preparing for my wedding (NEXT YEAR GUYS!) means I suddenly care about it being healthy and having the choice to not have it red has suddenly become important.
My hair is the kind to stay red- full of red pigment, I knew it would be a task. My beloved Boots advantage points I'd saved for years were put to good use and throughout the last week I've slowly succeeded in finally ridding the majority of the red from my hair (quite the feat after years of over-dying!)
1) Strip the artificial colour from the hair. I did this knowing that the colour below had been peroxide blonde- yes it meant that my hair always held the red well but I knew this would be the cause of my stress over the rest of the week. Sure enough, it became a browny/orange/red colour.
2) For the next two days, I washed my hair with an ash toner to help minimise the orange tone.
3) Pre-lightener. I would advise most people to leave a little more time between stripping the colour and bleaching the shit out of it, but as noted above, I'm pretty impatient with my hair and once I get started, it all changes pretty fast. Note to self- wait until you don't have work the next day because you're hair will actually glow in the dark after this. As you can see above, it went pretty pretty pretty orange. But at least it was all one colour for once.
4) Three more days of toner shampoo (make sure it's purple/blue based for cooler tones).
5) Ice Brown dye, has turned out to be a little darker than I'd imagined it would, but hey this is last night. I know from previous brown hair experience that it'll fade a little after a couple of washes and I'll be left with the cooler, brown hair that I've been longing for. I'll give it a little trim after a few washes and then it's growing time!
So what do you think? Of course I may decide that I do want my red hair back for our wedding (I still haven't quite let go of alternative
Love Sophie Xx
You look so hot I want to use the word gawwwwwwwwjus. But that would make me hate myself.
ReplyDeleteGreat job lady, especially after so long with the red.
You'll need to take up some insane hobby now or wear something weird to bridge the 'alternative' gap though.
Love it.
M x
I'm going to start wearing my knickers on my head...Or...your knickers on my head....*creepy stare*
DeleteIt's a little dark but thanks love! I'm hoping it'll fade a little (which I'm sure it will!) but yes it was a pain to do. haha!Xx
I love the new look :) I used to dye my hair all the time - hell, I even had bleach blond hair at one point! - but sometimes it feels good to get back to a natural color. I loved the red hair, but I think the brown is great for starting fresh: for starting a new chapter of your life. You can still be 'alternative' without having bright red tresses!
ReplyDelete~ Samantha
I know Sam, it can become really an addiction of sorts. I used to change the colour so often that it just stopped growing, thankfully it's better after a few years with the same colour but it should *crosses fingers* grow even better at a more neutral colour! Xx
DeleteI've gotta say, you were rocking that orange! :) I'm also on a "no dyeing my hair until it grows" campaign, so we can support each other through this tough time!
ReplyDeleteChelsea xx
I'm onto the outgrowing fringe bit Chelsea and it's driving me insane! Hair growing buddies fo life ;-) Xx
Delete